Five people killed in an attack on a military base in Maridi County

Information and Communication Minister in Western Equatoria State has confirmed that at least five people have been killed and one person abducted following an attack on a military base of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in Mambe Payam of Western Equatoria State in the early hours of Friday morning.

William Baiki told JUBA ECHO via phone on Friday that those killed included one policeman, two SSPDF soldiers and one civilian, William is accusing the National Salvation Front Forces of carrying out the attack.

“The incident took place today (Friday) at around 6am where the forces loyal to Thomas Cirillio came and attacked Porowulu which is between Mambe and Karika. They killed five people at ago; two police officers, two SSPDF soldiers and one civilian. They also managed to abduct one civilian,” William Baiki said in a phone interview with JUBA ECHO

He says though the reason behind the incident is unclear, the Western Equatoria state government condemns in the strongest terms possible the kind of ‘unnecessary’ attacks carried out by National Salvation Front Forces that he says are part of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed in Rome, Italy.

Baiki also said a number of civilians fled the area following the incident. He calls on the National Salvation Front forces to adhere to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and join the ongoing peace process.

“Civilians already fled the area because of the clashes that took place this (Friday) morning but as soon as possible, we are going to deploy our forces in that area. This is the first time in a while for them (the rebels) to carry out an attack in Western Equatoria State. We are very disappointed with the presence of the forces of Thomas Cirillo and we request our civilians to be very vigilant and share information with authorities so that necessary measures are taken in suspicious cases,” William Baiki added.

On his part, John Paul, the Executive Director in Maridi County confirmed there were clashes in the said area but could not immediately establish the number of civilians displaced.